Elevator



Patented Mar.' 13, 1923.

ATENT OFFIC..

WILSON B. WIGiLE, OF FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA.

nLEvAToR.'

Application iileaianuary 29, 1919. serial No. 273,873.

Tio4 aZZ- whom t may concern: i Be known 'that I, VILsoN B. WIGLE,

. a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, resid- --ing at Fullerton, in the county of Orange 5 and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an elevator construction usually employed in elevating or y10. lowering oilvwell tubing, or drive pipes in :oil or other wells, and pertains more specifi'cally to a latching' mechanism for detachably securing together the elevator members 1 whenthe same have been secured in positiongon the tubing or casing which is being elevated or lowered into position. A prime object of my invention'is to provide a vdouble latching mechanism for casing elevators, .that will securely hold the pivoted elevator members together duringl its operation, and in which one ofthe latching mechanisms'will hold the elevator members securely together should the other latching mechanism become accidentally disengaged. I t

Another object of my invention is to provide a double la'tching mechanism so arranged that an operator may readily disengageboth latching mechanisms at a single 3l? oper'atiomthe mechanisms operating in unisOn when the pivoted elevator members are secured together.

^ I accomplish the above objects by means fof. the latchin A'mechanism herein decribed andfillustrate in the'accompanying drawings inwhich.:

, .'45 ings, the elevator illustrated therein is of the type'usu'allyemployed raising or lowerfing -oil wellftuloingor drive pipes, in oil we lls,-and consists/bf .a ,semi-circular member 5. provided on it'souter face', and at each v of its endswith an aprtured bail engaging lug 6, formed integral/therewith, the hails 7 of usualform, swiI ig-in'g'lyil engaging the apertures in the lugs, `and when in their operative position extending upwardly to a hook (not shown).

Secured to the ends of member 5 by pivot pins @are segmental jaw members 9 and 10,'the free ends of said members being detachably secured together when the elevator I is placedin position on the casing or plpe that is being raised or lowered.

Each of members 9 and 10 is segmentall in form, and they are provided on their free ends with outwardly extending lugs 11 and 12, in which the latching mechanism is mounted. TheS opposing face of lug'llQ is preferably provided withy two latch receiving recesses 13 and 14 disposediin vertical alinement one above another, the-upper wall of recess- 13 havinga-do'wnwardly extending latch engaging lip lfwhile the lower wall of recess 14' has an i'i-pwardly extending latch engaging'lip 16,- bo'th lips. rigidly maintainingthe members 9 and4 1Q. securely `togetherwhen engaged. by the pivoted latch os. d. 1-

ug '11 is 4provided iwith two 'transversely extending latch, receiving' apertures 17g`and f 18 disposed apart and'registering with-fre-4 cesses 13 andi` 141 when the two members'll ture 17 is a manually operatedl latchl21,

one end 22 .forming an operating handle,

while'the opposite 'end'23 isfformed into a-d downwardly extending catch 24 adapted to engagethe lip 16 formed on the lower wall ofthe recess 14. The outer end of latch '21 is bevelled from the lowerl transverse edge of catch 24 upward-ly so that when the members 9 and 10"- are brought togetherl the ,engaging-end of the latch will readily rise "so` and 12 are brought torether'asc'learly shownover the projecting lip 16 and enter the rei cess.' The sidewalls o'f the latch end are also bevelled as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings so as to conform to the inclined side wallsof the recess and to permit of an unrestricted opening 0f. the 4 j members 9 andl 10 when the elevator is disengaged. The lower edge of latch 21 lis provided with a downwardly projecting lug 26, adapted to engage the upper end of a co-iied latch operating spring 27 mqiinted in a recess,

28 formed between the two apertures, the lower end of said spring engages the lug 29 formed on a latch 30 that is an exact counterpart of latch 21, thelatch 30 which is pivotally mounted in aperture 18 being disposed with its lip engaging catch 31 extending upwardly so as to engage the lip l5 when the latch end enters the recess.

rlhe outer faces of segmental members 9 and 10, adjacent the lugs 11 and 12 formed thereon, are recessed as clearly shown in both figures. of the drawings, the projecting ledges 34: preventing the accidental disengagement" of the latching dogs o-n a downward or upward movement of the elevator. Secured to ledges 34 in any suitable manner are vertically dispose-d hand grips 32, 33, which may be utilized by theI operator in swinging the members. 9 and 10 into or out of engagement with each other.

The operation of my latching mechanism is as follows: The coiled spring 27 will norma-lly maintain the latch members in position for engaging the lips formed on the upper and lower walls of the recesses, the bevelled ends permitting an easylentrance thereto when the jaws of members 9 and 10 are brought together to lock the elevator in position. By providing a double latching means, all danger of accidental displacement is reduced to a minimum, if one latch is accidentally disen aged, its companion latch is suiiiciently s rong to maintain the members 9 and 10 in locked position to each other. In detaching the members 9 and 1() from each other, the operator first presses the handles ofl the latch members together, and then swings member 10 slightly away from its companion member, the grips 32 and 33 are then grasped and both members are-then swung open to their fullest extent to release the eleva-tor from engagement with the pipey casing which is being elevated or lowered into or out of the well.

vators, that is quite unlikely to get out of order and which may be readily repaired.

What I claim is:

1. An elevator latching mechanism, comprising in combination with a single stationary member of substantiallysemi-circular form, two swinging members of 'quadrant form pivotally secured to 'said stationary member, a member to each end of said stationary member anda double latching mechanism secured to one of said swinging members and engaging the other of said members to lock said members together in their adjusted position.

2. An elevator latching mechanism, comprising in combination a single stationary member of substantially semicircular form, a pairof jaws of substantially quadrant form pivoted to swing on said stationary member, a jaw engaging each end of said stationary member, a. spring latch pivotally secured to the outer end of one of said aws, said latch adapted to automatically engage the outer end of the other of said aws when the ends of the two are swung together, said latch Vbeing provided with manually operated disengaging means, and means formed on the jaws carrying the latch for protecting the latch from accidental displacement during the operation of the elevator.

3. An elevator latching mechanism, comprising in combination with a substantially semi-circular stationary member, a pair of swinging jaws substantially of quadrant form pivotally secured thereto, the free ends of said swingin jaws abutting when swung together, one o said jaws provided on its outer face and adjacent its free end with a pocket or recess, a pivoted latch mounted in said pocketed or recessed jaw, the handle of said latch projecting into said pocket or recess, and a spring for returning the latch to normal position after a latching operation, said latch adapted to engage the other of said jaws to hold the same in locked relation with each other.

WHJSON B. WIGLE. 

